


Root Cellar

by Freedoms_Champion



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Gen, Good Uncle Peter Hale, Young Hales, Young Peter Hale, at least kind of, hiding in the Nemeton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28777371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion
Summary: While hiding from the hunters, Peter reflects on the nature of his relationship with his nephew and realizes he might have been wrong.
Relationships: Derek Hale & Peter Hale
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	Root Cellar

Peter could feel Derek shivering. He had one arm around his nephew’s shoulders, keeping him close while they both crouched in the darkest corner of the root cellar he could find. The hunters had moved on, somehow failing to notice the doors down to where the two werewolves were hiding. He could still hear them in the distance; they hadn’t gone nearly far enough to take the edge off the danger.

“You have to stay still, Derek,” he whispered. The hunters couldn’t hear as well as werewolves, but there was no telling what they had come up with to augment that disadvantage. Talia refused to share her information and suspicions with him.

“I’m trying, but it’s cold,” Derek whispered back. He hunched a little tighter into himself.

Peter winced internally. He didn’t need his enhanced senses to tell him how scared Derek was, though they certainly told him. The scent of fear hung in the air and filled his head with every breath he took. He spared a moment of attention to focus his hearing and judge how far the hunters had gone.

“We can move a little bit. Come on, Derek. We’ll be ok, I promise.” Peter shifted as quietly as he could, setting his back to the rough dirt wall and reluctantly stretching his legs out rather than keeping them under him and ready to move. Derek displayed equal reluctance to abandon the ability to flee quickly, but he curled against Peter’s chest to soak up what body heat he could offer.

“Peter, what are we going to do?” Derek whispered after a stretch of time long enough to still his shivers. “Those hunters killed a guy! He was like us and they hunted him down like an animal.”

“We stay down here, and we don’t let them catch us,” Peter replied, hoping it sounded more certain than he felt. “Talia said they have a code. We haven’t hurt anyone; they have no reason to hunt us. If we’re gone for too long, Talia will look for us.”

“But how can Mom find us? I never even knew about this place. Won’t that make it impossible for her?”

“She’s an Alpha, Derek. She can do all kinds of things.” Peter bit his tongue to keep from saying anything else. Derek didn’t deserve a bitter tirade over how unfair it was that Talia was the Alpha and spent more time doting on her only son than looking after her own brother. He had a feeling she saw him more like one of her own children anyway; he was nearly the same age as Talia’s oldest daughter. Maybe their parents felt the same way. Peter saw Talia more often than his parents these days.

Derek nodded and apparently that answer was enough for him. Tension eased out of him and a few minutes later, he was fast asleep with his head on Peter’s shoulder. As the silence went on, Peter surprised himself by reflecting that it had been a long time since Derek had trusted him so much.

To distract himself from pointless sentimental considerations, Peter examined the hiding place more carefully. He’d been mentally calling it a root cellar because it was underground and taken up by roots from the enormous tree stump overhead. In the darkness, he had to rely on his wolf eyes to take in details. Shelves loaded with dusty jars holding mysterious substances stood in careless chaos. The roots from the dead tree reached from the ceiling to the floor in tangled confusion. On one of the broadest roots, a loopy bit of knotwork had been painted. From its faded condition, Peter assumed it was old. The entire place had obviously been abandoned.

Wondering why wouldn’t do anything to help them, so Peter didn’t spend much time considering that question. It was more important that he find every possible hiding place, in case the hunters found the doors leading down here. Peter had considered using his belt to lash them closed, but that would only prove to the hunters that someone was inside, so he hadn’t bothered. Ideally, he’d be able to plan a route of escape if they needed one.

Unfortunately, the only way out was the staircase to the doors. If the hunters came down here, he and Derek would die. Peter ground his teeth and tightened his arms around his nephew. They were only getting him over Peter’s dead body.

It was funny, he thought, forcing himself to relax. For years, Derek had followed him around like a puppy, driving him crazy with questions and demands. Now, they rubbed along in a prickly state of disdain and distrust, which was mostly Peter’s fault. He hadn’t expected to feel so strongly about defending the kid.

Maybe that was how the Pack was supposed to work and Peter had been doing to wrong the whole time. It was annoying to consider that Laura had been right, the last time she’d shouted at him for saying something that upset Derek.

Irritated, he shoved away the introspective thoughts. There were hunters in the woods, on the warpath to find and cut in half any werewolves they could get their hands on. Now wasn’t the time to get wrapped up in dark thoughts.

Peter leaned his head back against the wall and sharpened his hearing. As long as the hunters kept moving away, he and Derek would be safe. In order to protect his nephew, he had to keep track of things.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! New year, new fandom!
> 
> I hope you liked it. Comments are welcome and above all, have a fantastic day!


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